Taming of the Brew

Zahid Sardar

Published 4:00 am, Sunday, August 19, 2001

Tea drinkers, the Boston Tea Party was unruly and boorish. Chinese, Russian and Japanese tea ceremonies or the genteel British custom of late- afternoon high tea are distinctly less boisterous. And for the Chinese, presumably the first to drink the amber pick-me-up nearly 5,000 years ago, tea consumption is still a quotidian, low-key ritual.

After the Europeans (particularly the Dutch, French and finally the British) embraced tea during the 17th century, the Chinese habit of brewing tea in individual drinking cups became outmoded. The new brewing standard, a bulbous container with handle and (removable) spout became the norm. And pots that could pour tea without spilling onto fine linen were coveted by aristocrats who could afford to drink the pricey import.

Designers have been trying to refine the teapot ever since. Its rounded shape was likely derived from Chinese porcelain jars or wine vessels shipped wrapped in tea leaves, while teapot handles and spouts echo Islamic coffee kettles well-known to traders along the Spice routes. Chinese ships laden with plain terra-cotta Yixing teapots or decorated porcelain wares with handpainted Western-style landscapes set off for Europe. Similar shiploads decorated with Asian-style motifs would head for South Asia.

With the increasing popularity of tea among Britons, the design of pots veered toward the whimsical. At Victorian tea parties, porcelain flora, plus dogs, cats and other creatures all spouted tea. These days with the proliferation of revolutionary tea blends, designers are quietly rethinking the teapot, with some even giving Britain's ubiquitous spout a hefty heave-ho.

Curious about one of the world's most expensive teas? See BayWrap, page 5.

Resources:

Gump's, 135 Post St., San Francisco; (415) 982-1616.

TeaFountain, 4450 North Gate Mall; San Rafael, (415) 507-0577.

The Gardener, 1836 Fourth St., Berkeley; (510) 548-4545.

1. Treasures from the 19th-century Chinese junk, Tek Sing, which sank en route to Java in 1822, a tragic victim of the Opium wars. When its opium jars, thousands of blue and white porcelain and pottery vessels from the ill-fated ship destined for the South East Asian market surfaced recently, collector
Alan Jacob
, a San Francisco native now living in Germany, bought 3,000 pieces at auction.